Rotary egg cleaner



Oct. 3, 1950 c. E. HARMAN ROTARY EGG CLEANER Filed Sept. 22, 1948 ClairE. Harman Patented Oct. 3, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROTARY EGGCLEANER Clair E. Harman, Berrysburg, Pa. Application September 22,1948,- Serial No. 50,565

This invention relates to new and useful improvements and structuralrefinements in egg cleaners, and the principal object of the inventionis to provide a device of the character herein described whereby the eggcleaning operation may be easily, conveniently and expeditiouslyeffected.

This object is achieved by the provision of a cleaner embodying in itsconstruction a rotatable hub carrying a plurality of flexible flaps eachseparated into a row of individually flexible flngers, the latter havingabrasively coated surfaces which are engageable with the eggs for thepurpose of cleaning the same.

An important feature of the invention resides in the particularconstruction and arrangement of the abrasively coated fingers and in themanner whereby the fingers are secured to the rotatable hub.

Some of the advantages of the invention re- '1 Claim. (01. 51-190) sidein its simplicity of construction and in its adaptability to economicalmanufacture.

With the above more important objects and features in view and suchother objects and features asmay become apparent as this specificationproceeds',,the invention consists essentially of the arrangement andconstruction of parts as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, inwhich: a

Figure 1 is an end elevational view of the invention;

Figure 2 is a cross sectional view, taken substantially in the planeofthe line 22 in Figure 1 and illustrating the invention in situupon anarmature shaft of an electric motor, and

Figure 3 is a perspective view of one of the flaps used in theinvention.

Like characters of reference are employed to designate like parts in thespecification and throughout the several views.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the inventionconsists of an egg cleaner designated generally by the referencecharacter Ill, the same embodying in its construction a hub l2 which ispreferably provided with an axially extendin bushing I4 to receive anend portion of an armature shaft [6 of a suitable electric motor l8.Alternatively, the shaft l6 may assume the form of an adapter which isprovided with a coupling member 20 so that it may be operativelyconnected to the armature 22 of the motor l8 by a suitable set screw 24.

These two alternative forms of construction are, of course, regardedmerely as a matter of choice and no patentable novelty is predicated asillustrated in Figure l.

thereon. v The shaft l6 may be regarded, for all practical purposes,either as the armature of the motor, or an extension thereof, asdesired.

The essence of novelty of the invention resides in the pro-vision of aplurality of flaps 26 formed from flexible material and coated at oneside thereof with suitable abrasive, these flaps radiating outwardlyfrom the hub l2 and having inner end portions 28 thereof rigidly securedby adhesive, or the like, in spaced parallel slots 30 with which thecircumferential edge portion of the hub I2 is equipped.

The flaps 26 are formed with aplurality of spaced parallel slits 32which extend inwardly from the outer edges of the flaps toward the hub12 and which separate the flaps into rows of independently flexiblefingers 34, as will be clearly apparent.

For all practical purposes, the flaps 26 may simply assume the form ofemery cloth, and it is to be noted that the flaps are arcuated outwardlyagainst the direction of rotation of the hub 36, In this manner, the

. flaps 26 and consequently, the fingers 34, have what may be calledconcave leading surfaces 38 and convex trailing surfaces 40 (see Figures1 and 2) the leading surfaces 38 being abrasively coated so that when anegg is applied to the cleaner as illustrated at 42 in Figure 2, the

abrasively coated, convex leading surfaces of the flaps and,consequently, of the fingers, may engage the shell of the egg for thepurpose of efficiently cleaning the same without damage by a simplewiping action. Needless to say, the concave trailing surfaces 40 of theflaps 26 need not be abrasively coated, since they do not come intoengagement with the egg.

The entire cleaner ll) may be secured on-the armature or armatureextension l6 by means of a suitable nut and washer 44, 46 respectively,and if desired, a disk of flexible material 48, such as canvas, or thelike, may be provided either on one side or on both sides of the hub 12for the purpose of preventing the flaps 26 from spreading laterally, aswill be clearly apparent. The disk or disks 48 may be secured to the hubby adhesive, or the like, and it is to be noted that they are ofsufiicient diameter so as to extend beyond the outer edges of thefingers 34, as illustrated in Figure 1.

It is believed that the advantages and use of the invention will beclearly apparent from the foregoing disclosure and accordingly, furtherdescription thereof at this point is deemed unnecessary.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferredembodiment of this invention it is to be understood that minor changesin the details of construction and arrangement of parts may be resortedto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention asclaimed.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is In a rotaryegg cleaner, the combination of a rotatable shaft, a cylindrical hubmounted on said shaft for rotation therewith, a plurality of flexibleflaps having abrasive coating thereon provided on the lateral surface ofsaid hub, said flaps being provided with spaced parallel slits affordingon each flap a set of individually flexible fingers disposed in a rowextending longitudinally 4 REFERENCES CITED The following references areof record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,377,598 Paoli May 10, 19211,794,092 Phillips Feb. 24, 1931 1,897,971 Johnston Feb. 14, 19331,976,380 Wilkinson Oct, 9, 1934 2,015,646 Hillix Sept. 24, 19352,018,967 Miller et a1. 1 Oct. 29, 1935 2,035,042 Bridgman Mar. 24, 19362,164,800 Davis July 4, 1939 2,174,385 Holmes Sept. 26, 1939 2,235,404Manggaard Mar. 18, 1941 2,259,475 Koether Oct. 21, 1941 2,423,992Nordgren et a1. July 15, 1947

